Perfidy
by Sleeping In
Summary: Ranma's mistake causes catastrophic results and two years later, he finds himself stuck in the center of an uprising of Underground Fighting run by Nabiki. Ranma soon learns that the wounds he caused haven't healed and he must suffer for them.
1. Went Away For Only A Little While

**_Perfidy_**

by: _Sleeping In_**  
**

* * *

**Per‧fi‧dy:** (n.), plural -dies. 

1. deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery: perfidy that goes unpunished.  
2. an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.

**Synonyms:** disloyalty, treachery, betrayal.

* * *

PROLOGUE: **Went Away For Only A Little While**

**i.**_ too bad the burial was premature she said_

Like everything else in Akane's life, the worst incident happened on a Thursday. While she had her fair share of bad days throughout the week, Thursday always took the cake. Of course, that was the worst Thursday.

_She can't leave her room on that day anymore. It hurts too much she cries._

It had started like many other days, with the sun rising and sounds of battle waking her. She had felt queer all morning. She remembers that.

_She never should have left her bed._

Ranma had been in top form. He was always in top form, unlike herself. She could only hit bricks while he could kill a god.

Akane rose to greet the day.

_Should have stayed under the covers._

Everything had been so perfect. She didn't feel the anger taking over. She didn't feel the negative feelings bubbling up. No, not on that day. (She ignored the gnawing sensation in her stomach. The same one she got on the day her mother died.)

She had smiled at him, at Ranma. One of her price-less smiles. The one that made Ranma's knees weak, the one that made Daddy remember Mother. Mother, perfect only because she was dead. If you die, you're cleared of your faults and placed on a pedestal.

_Should have swallowed a bottle of aspirin instead._

Akane never quite figured out what actually happened that day. The day that had started so beautiful had ink spilled across it. She remembered Kasumi had cut herself on a kitchen knife. An innocent mistake.

It's amazing how ironic life becomes when it falls apart.

Kasumi's cut was deeper than expected, so Akane walked with her to the doctor's. It only needed a stitch or two. Kasumi had been fine and sent Akane off on her own. She decided to visit Ucchan's. They had been creating a bumbling friendship. Slowly, but surely.

Akane laughs at that now.

She had walked to the front with a smile and happy thoughts.

She had opened the door.

She felt her insides twist, her hands shake, her heart shatter.

People say Akane went crazy that day. Whether it's a rumor or the truth, they'll never know.

_Pack her bags and run far away.  
Run so far, far away._

**ii.** _sometimes she's a friend of mine_

Ukyo found herself in a nameless bar located in a nameless town with all the nameless drunks she would ever need. And her reason for it? The reason why everything was so fucked up?

She had abandonment issues with her idiot father.

Figured.

**iii.** _cause it's cold, cold, cold in my hole, hole, hole_

Nabiki allowed nothing to interfere with her plans. Whether it was a simple misunderstanding or the world was ending; nothing was out of schedule.

That was her reasoning for hating Ranma Saotome so much. His spontaneity. His utter and complete lack at keeping anything ordered. His true talent in life was to cause chaos and disorder. Nabiki could not have that.

When Ranma had fucked things up to the point of no return with her younger sister, Nabiki had methodically come through to shape things up. She handled all honor claims swiftly and precisely. She removed the idiot Saotomes from the Tendo establishment.

Then she packed up her bags, along with Akane's, and they escaped into the world. Nabiki had rented an apartment for college and brought her sister along to stay with her.

Nabiki wasn't afraid to admit that Akane had been in a sorry state for those first few months. She would even go so far to admit that she had been scared for her sister's safety. But Akane had survived. With deep scars and a stabbed heart, but she had survived.

So, after the huge embarrassment of allowing her sister to fall in love with such an idiot, Nabiki had developed her plan to seek revenge. One does not hurt someone close to Nabiki Tendo and not pay a price. After all, Akane needed a reason to live and revenge was too easy.

**iv.** _ran into some confusion_

Ranma had very few good things happen in his life. One of which had been the engagement to Akane Tendo. The girl with deep, deep brown eyes and a sweet, sweet mind. She didn't understand his need for more. His always changing desires. He wanted more than she could give.

He was his father's son, after all.

**v.** _with a gigantic whirlpool that will blow your mind_

Mousse had surprised everyone the most. When news got out that the Tendo engagement fell through and Ranma was free from them, he did not run off to Shampoo to change her mind about him. Mousse did not try to fight Ranma for his beauteous Shampoo.

He left.

Stuffed his bags, picked up, and left.

No note explaining his actions, no hint at his angle.

It was two months afterwards that he made his position known to one Nabiki Tendo. The smile she gave at his thoughts could have been called feral.

Mousse found a place. It didn't matter to him that it belonged to the underworld.

**vi.** _she's got a little fund to fight_

One punch.  
Two punch.  
Red kick.  
Blue kick.

Akane had learned to improvise as a child.

Who needed dolls when you had dummies?

Why did having friends matter when there was a pile of blocks waiting to be crushed?

Who needed a mother when she had anger?

A TV voice over announced the large amount of UNDERGROUND FIGHTING that had developed over the past year. He warned the public to stay away from such vicious atrocities, almost as if they carrying a disease.

Akane would have smirked had she heard it. After all, her domain had become chaos. And she did enjoy it greatly.

* * *

Chapter One: **You Never Liked Me** is on the way. 

The sub-headings are from Tori Amos' song, _Mr. Zebra_ on her album **Boys for Pele**.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story. It's greatly appreciated. : )

Oh yes, I almost forgot. **Ranma 1/2** is not mine nor will it ever be. I just play with the characters for my personal enjoyment and there is no way in hell that I could possibly make any money whatsoever off of this writing. (This disclaimer applies to this chapter and all following chapters.)


	2. You Never Liked Me

_**Perfidy**_

by:_ Sleeping In**  
**_

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**I'm not that hot new chick  
And if you won't let me run with it  
We're on to your same old trick  
Get up and run away with it**  
"_He War" _by Cat Power

* * *

CHAPTER 1: **You Never Liked Me**

Her heels clicked down the hall in an unhurried fashion. Nabiki herself looked like she always did. Calm, cool, collected. She reeked of power and her triumph smirk was in place. Akane followed after her; looking disinterested with the world. Mousse had an arm slung over Akane's shoulder and kept a constant eye-open for danger. Old habits die-hard.

The doorman opened the door as was his job and Nabiki took a step into the outside. Tokyo was full of the bumbling masses, all looking for a place. She turned to the right heading towards a restaurant for a nice lunch. She could hear Akane's question above the rumble of the crowd.

"I hate those government types. Thinking they know shit that we don't. What was the point of that?"

Nabiki's smirk widened, "The point, dear sister, is so we can control them. In this world of corruption and greed, information is power. Letting them think we have no idea about what we are doing makes them comfortable. Getting comfortable is the worst idea in this business." Nabiki heard Akane about to give a reply when they passed a young couple on the sidewalk.

The boy held onto the girl's hand and was tugging her across Tokyo. The girl was laughing and calling out to the young boy, "Ranma! Stop! I'm getting run over!"

Akane froze. Her expression was of pure horror. Nabiki and Mousse shared a look before Nabiki wrapped her arms around Akane and Mousse pulled out his cell phone to call a ride. Akane gave a shudder, but shook her head at Mousse. She was fine.

Akane began walking again in a hurried fashion towards their previous destination. Nabiki shared another look with Mousse. She tried to give the situation a positive outlook, "She seems to be getting better at moving on now," Mousse shot Akane a sad look, "No," he replied, "she's just locking all the pain away. She's not dealing with it."

Nabiki didn't answer. Mousse's insight had been the saving grace as far as Akane was concerned. Nabiki had found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place; she had needed a backer for her endeavor and she hadn't been in Tokyo long enough to have established a sufficient ring of blackmail. Not to mention, Akane's spiral into depression had gotten substantially worse the past month. Mousse turned up with money asking only to become part of her idea. His relationship with Akane turned out to save Akane from letting herself sink completely into the darkness. Nabiki had stopped trying to figure out why Mousse was Akane's savior.

They entered the restaurant in silence. They didn't even bother with the host, going straight to their regular table.

Lunch was a quiet affair.

**&&&**

Akane fancied herself a bird in a previous life. She said she would have been a hummingbird. All bright colors and sweet whisperings. One of her lovers asked her why she thought that; she had replied, "They are teased with delights and easily forgotten."

Her lover hadn't replied.

**&&&**

Mousse watched the up and down motion of the nameless woman's chest. The woman laying next to him would be easily forgotten and thrown away. He laughed at that thought. Contrary to popular belief, Mousse didn't honestly enjoy these easy women. He enjoyed what they gave but nothing deeper.

He had loved Shampoo, but it wasn't meant to be.

He found himself in constant need for love, so he turned to the next best thing.

Sex.

The problem with sex was simple; he had no connection to the woman he fucked. And connections made sex wonderful.

He had made love to Akane, back when her wounds were fresh still. Nabiki had been at a loss, stretched to the point of insanity. Mousse had known what Akane needed. Physical proof of being alive and wanted. She craved pain and pleasure in the most obvious sense.

Mousse had given it to her.

He often found himself wondering if Shampoo would have been as much fun as Akane in bed. Akane was creative and innovative. Shampoo wouldn't know what to do; Amazon women didn't like having the men in charge. They weren't willing to try.

Mousse smirked at the memory of Akane, naked and dancing around the room. She had a beautiful body.

He left his chambers, slipping on a pair of jeans on his way. He craved intelligent talk.

Where was Nabiki when you needed her?

**&&&**

Nabiki processed what Kodachi was saying with a frown. This series of events wasn't panning out well. Ranma wasn't taking the bait. He wasn't coming.

Kodachi finished her report with a flourish. She wasn't happy with her findings either. She had been looking forward to torturing Ranma again.

Nabiki was staring hard at the wall. She couldn't understand why Ranma hadn't taken the bait. He was so predictable, why hadn't he followed through like he would have before. The door opened and closed and Nabiki heard Akane making her way across the room.

"Problems, Nabiki?" Akane stretched herself across Nabiki's leather couch. Nabiki spoke with an indifferent tone, "Ranma isn't replying to his calling," Akane kept her eyes on the ceiling. She knew Nabiki was watching her reaction closely.

"Then let me get his attention."

Nabiki's face blossomed into a Cheshire cat grin, her voice bespoke of her amusement, "And how, pray-tell, do you plan to do that? Calling him up perhaps or going to visit him?"

Akane still didn't look at her sister. She rose from her position and splayed her fingers across the spines of Nabiki's books that had no other purpose than to make the room look more like an office. Akane didn't let her voice waver over her next words, "Maybe I can just play an innocent trick on him."

Nabiki gave her a strange look, "The innocent trick would consist of, what exactly? Mailing him a ransom? I hardly think he'll fall for that."

"I was going to track him down and cross paths. Let him think I need help or something like that." Akane was facing her sister now.

Nabiki gave her sister a long look, something like that could destroy all the progress Akane had made. It could put Akane back where she had been not so long ago. On the other hand, placing Akane in Ranma's path would surely provide enough incentive for Ranma to come to them. He would be drawn like a moth to a flame.

Nabiki gave a nod, it was their only option.

"Beware little sister, don't allow him to break you again."

Akane closed the door behind her.

Kodachi looked toward her mistress for orders. The plan would have to be planned with every second accounted for. No one wanted Akane to fall in Ranma's shadow again.

"Kodachi, call in the Boys. We have a reunion to plan."

Kodachi stumbled, "Are you sure we should do this, I mean Akan--"

"Now Kodachi."

"Yes Mistress."

Kodachi left the room as Mousse walked in without knocking; Nabiki sighed.

"Why the hell are you letting Akane put herself in that position again? She's just staring to really heal and now everything we've done is going to fall apart. She's going to fall apart." Mousse was breathing heavily and his fists were clenched tightly.

Nabiki was giving him an odd look and asked plaintively, "Are you in love with Akane, Mousse?" He was startled by the question. "You're awfully rallied up for only being friends with my sister. I wonder if there's something deeper. I wonder, did you just transfer your love for Sham--"

Mousse covered Nabiki's mouth with his hand. He had an angry look on now, "Don't ever say that again. Stay out of my business," he removed his hand, "and no, I'm not in love with Akane."

Nabiki's smirk didn't leave her face, but she let his reaction go without replying. It would come up again for her benefit soon enough.

"Ask Akane for the reasons behind her endeavor. She offered."

"And you accepted?" Mousse gave her an incredulous look.

Nabiki didn't answer. Her cell phone rang and she calmly picked it up while continuing her staring contest with Mousse.

"Nabiki Tendo speaking."

Some undistinguished words followed and Nabiki gave a positive sound. She snapped her phone shut and Mousse looked away, he still wasn't up to her level yet. He left without another word.

Nabiki sighed in the silence he left behind.

**&&&**

Mousse found Akane in her chambers. The sprawling walls and abstract art never left you comfortable nor sane. Akane wished to keep herself from thinking too much in this room. She kept herself from thinking a lot of the time.

_everyone has their obsession_

She was in the center of her space; swaying in a way that bespoke of many emotions, to a beat playing around and inside their ears. He watched in silence as she twirled.

_consuming thoughts, consuming time_

He found this music soothing, in a strange way. He thought of lovesexobsessionrevenge when listening. He thought of Shampoo.

Akane still hadn't acknowledged his presence. She still danced to her music calmly and without hindrance.

_there are objects of affection_

"You can't hide from my questions forever."

"I will ignore their presence until they suffocate me and even then, I will answer in half-truths and riddles."

_that can mesmerize the soul_

He grabbed her by the wrist to stop her roving body and shifting eyes. He wanted to know what went on in her mind when she made the deal. What she was thinking when she was dancing and swaying and moving to her beat. He wanted to know the answer to all the questions he hadn't asked yet.

"He will destroy you like he has done before."

"Not until I've destroyed him first."

Mousse looked straight into her eyes. They both knew she could never break him first, like the young children of the world lying to themselves about not being scared of monsters and of the dark.

_there is always one addiction_

"Make me forget about him," she whispered in Mousse's ear, "let me think of something else. For a time, at least."

He nodded.

_that just cannot be controlled_

And he made her forget, even if for but a short amount of the infinite time.

* * *

Thank you for reading this installment. It's so much fun to write; I love being all creative-like. Blah, I can't explain it. Nevermind... 

** Chapter Two: Never Heard of Sin** should be out in the near future.

The song at the end was **MuteMath**'s _You Are Mine_. Check them out; they're wonderful. MuteMath, I mean.

Does anyone know what movie, besides Eraserhead, the Pixies' song Gigantic was in? I can't remember for the life of me and I know I've heard that song in a movie before.


	3. Never Heard Of Sin

_**Perfidy**_

by: _Sleeping In_

* * *

i can't confront you  
i never could do that which might hurt you  
so try and be cool when I say  
this way is a waterslide away from me  
that takes you further every day  
so be cool  
**weezer**, "_say it ain't so_"

* * *

CHAPTER 2: **Never Heard of Sin**

Akane breathed deeply, allowing the smoke to fill up in her lungs, then releasing it. She blew it out in random shapes. She had a talent with her tongue, as many a men would say. She inhaled even deeper on her second drag. Her nails needed painting. Her hair should be washed, it was getting greasy. That picture was crooked. Her skin was sweaty, she needed a shower. Her clothes were dirty. He left her for a whore. She took another drag.

Mousse contemplated the world in his mind as he watched her. He listened to her breathing and watched the sweat slide down her neck into the valley between her breasts. His hand teased her belly button in a lazy fashion. He liked her stomach, it reminded him of home. He wondered why.

Akane placed her addiction on the bedside table. She crawled into Mousse's arms, buried her face into his chest.

And she cried.

She cried like she needed to. Because all she had left was tears.

Mousse thread his hands through her hair and didn't even bother with words. She wouldn't hear them anyway.

Once the sobbing subsided and her breath wasn't the uncomfortable hitch-hitch, she spoke, "Do you find me ugly? Do you think I'm wretched?"

Mousse replied with a no.

"Ranma does. He thinks I'm disgusting, he thinks I'm a whore. He never loved me, he just used me," Her tears were growing larger as they ran down her face.

Mousse whispered to her softly, like one would comfort a child who just woke up screaming from nightmares, "Red, there is nothing in this world that will replace the pain you feel now. No matter what happens in this god-forsaken place, you will always remember this pain, this ache. I could say that things will get better, but they won't.

"You'll never move on. It'll hold you back till your dying day. You've just got to learn to let the pain to hurt. Don't try to hide it, don't try to face it. Let it be the pink elephant in the room that everyone sees but won't talk about," his hands had stayed in her hair and he never looked at her when he said his speech.

Akane's voice was hesitant, "Do you still hurt Mousse? From Shampoo, I mean."

Mousse hadn't replied.

**&&&**

Ranma wiped the sweat from his face and dropped his towel onto the floor. He took a deep, calming breath and slid into a typical starting position. The man, if that is what you called him, across from Ranma was huge, but a colossal idiot. Ranma was often bored of these types easily so he didn't bother with them much, but this guy came with a bounty so Ranma fought.

Ranma sent a swift uppercut to the mammoth's head and hit him squarely in the temple. The giant fell hard and fast, the referee was there in a second, counting him down. Ranma was out as soon as he was proclaimed winner. Ryouga was at his side in a second and they made their way through the crowd swiftly. Ryouga let out a curse, "Dammit, where's Junior? He knows we're not allowed to be in this district for the fights."

Ranma let a growl escape, he had had a foreboding feeling all morning. He rose slightly on his toes to see over the crowd in a relatively useless move. He started to speak when he froze. Ryouga had looked at Ranma in question before following Ranma's line of sight to see the cause of the look of pure horror on Ranma's face.

Ryouga felt himself choke lightly on the air surrounding them. Across the room, Junior was talking to a woman in aviator sunglasses with a cigarette held between her fingers in a casual fashion. The young martial artists weren't surprised because Junior was talking to a woman, it was the woman that caused them to freeze.

It was her. Akane.

The girl that had suffered the brunt of Ranma's betrayal. She was there; talking to Junior, their adopted younger brother who had talent but no experience, as if a day hadn't gone by since they had last seen her.

She looked like she had before everything was sent to hell. Her hair was longer, reaching her shoulders in a trendy cut. Her fingernails were long and painted, her clothing while simple, spoke of money and expense. Her attention was focused solely on Junior who seemed to be enthralled by her every movement. His innocence in the matter would be his downfall.

Ryouga took a slow step forward then several quick movements towards them. Ranma followed slowly. Ryouga dodged a few people and crashed into more. He reached the boy and the mysterious woman who Ryouga once had strong feelings for in a few strides. She turned when he was a foot away and blew a ring of smoke into his face. He sputtered and continued to until Ranma appeared at his side. Ranma slapped him quickly and purposefully.

Junior sent them a furious look, but the newly arrived men ignored him. Ryouga coughed once more and decided to break the awkward silence that had befallen them.

"Akane," he stuck his hand out at this, he didn't know what else to do, "how've you been?" He cringed at the question and mentally berated himself into a black hole.

Akane smirked and took another drag but no sound came forth from her lips. Ranma made a noise halfway between a syllable and a sob, but otherwise remained silent.

Ryouga tried again, "I see you've meet Junior here. He's what you might call our prodigy. Ranma and I's, I mean. You see, we thought that it would take to long to train separate guys so we decided to make a joint effor--" Ryouga stopped speaking when Akane's attention refocused onto something just beyond his shoulder. Some man's voice was shouting over the din of the crowd and he was making his way towards them. Akane smiled brightly at the recently appeared stranger.

He was a tall man with broad shoulders and longish black hair that fell around his ears. He grabbed Akane around her waist, Ranma flinched at this, and pulled her into his arms. She in turn flung herself at him and laughed loudly when he spun them in a circle. The strange man lifted her higher on his chest and she wrapped her legs about his waist. He whispered into her ear and she let out a breathy giggle.

The men on the sides were lost as to what to do when the strange man seemed to notice they were there. He gave Akane a squeeze and let her slide along the length of his body, the move spoke of an intimacy that Ranma didn't want to think about. Akane flicked her cigarette, took in a lungful of nicotine air, and blew it out slowly. Her voice had roughened during their years apart and Ranma realized he wasn't there to hear its change. He wasn't there whenever she changed. He just caused it and left soon afterwards.

"Junior and I were talking of the world. He likes to fight and he shows talent. I think I'll keep him." The tall man laughed and Junior blushed slightly but that didn't hide the look of want. Akane reached up and pulled Junior's body flush with hers. She slithered an arm around his back and pulled him in a direction of her choice. He blushed brighter but a look of satisfaction came across his face.

Akane still hadn't acknowledged either Ryouga or Ranma.

**&&&**

Ranma punched the wall for the millionth time, or that's the number Ryouga thought Ranma had reached by now. His fist had to be hurting by now.

Ranma continued to hit the wall, hoping the pain of having his knuckles slowly break against a concrete wall would block out the emotional turmoil he had been avoiding for years. He didn't want his brain to process the fact that he had just seen the girl he had destroyed in a moment of weakness. That while he couldn't sleep at night and fought every minute of every day as not to think about her, she had moved on. Gone on to bigger and better things, maybe she hadn't been broken at all. Maybe he was the who suffered alone for his actions.

The man from earlier, the one that had known the new-and-improved, smoking Akane, came up to the silent men and inspected Ranma's attention diverter. He nodded knowingly, "Kid, the only thing you're gonna break is your hand at that rate."

"That's. The. Point," he punctuated each word with a strike to the wall.

The man smiled mollifyingly, "Boy, we both know you could total this entire place without breakin' a sweat. So the question is, why would you go about breakin' your hand instead of this hellhole?" Ranma maintained a steady pace with his punches and Ryouga watched silently.

The man leaned against the wall and the corners of his mouth rose a fraction of an inch, "Did it have anything to do with the bonnie-lass from earlier?" Ranma stumbled in his punches and the man broke out into a complete smile.

"I thought so. She's not easy to forget, huh? Pssh, I sure miss staying the night with her," Ranma shot out so fast that the man hadn't even blinked before he was hanging by his collar which Ranma held single-handing with the other arm pulled back to strike the tall man. Ryouga grabbed hold of Ranma's free hand shaking his head as he did so. They couldn't afford to make trouble here.

The man's smile didn't fade in the least bit, "Don't get angry when a man speaks the truth. It just makes him start to lie more often."

Ranma dropped the man and resumed his systematic punches at the wall. Ryouga helped the man to his feet, "If you don't have anything else to say then leave. Ranma isn't good with self-control, if ya get my drift." The man nodded but remained where he was.

He stuck out his hand in a jauntily matter, "I'm Slevin, and if ya mention that damn American movie then I'd be forced to cut off your balls and make ya eat 'em." He said all this with an innocent smile. Ryouga shook his hand and nudged Ranma to do the same, but Ranma ignored it and continued with the wall.

Slevin surveyed the crowd and made a suggestion to leave since none of them were allowed there technically anyway. Ryouga agreed, grabbed Ranma by the ponytail, and followed after the strange man who seemed to know something they didn't.

Twenty minutes later found them in a restaurant two blocks down from where they were earlier yet they were out of the city limits. Funny little buggers, Slevin commented to them when they had situated themselves around a table. Ranma grunted while Ryouga sighed for being cursed with such a companion.

Ranma finally spoke, "I'm gettin' bored of this already. Tell me something soon or I'm outta here." Ryouga squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't cause irreparable damage to the idiot sitting right next to him. Slevin laughed again and both men noticed that he had deep laugh lines adding a whole jovial outlook on his persona.

"Well for starters, how much do you know 'bout Red and her posse?"

Ryouga quickly cut Ranma off before he ruined their chances at learning anything about the turn Akane's life had taken, "Not much, I heard that her name was Akane though..."

Slevin nodded while motioning to a waitress. She was a young thing, perhaps nineteen or twenty and seemed to think Ranma was eye-candy of the finest degree. She barely looked at Slevin while she wrote his order on her notepad. She spun around place their order and the men were left alone again.

"I don't know who you've been talkin' to, but they're dead wrong. Sure, that might be her real name, but it don't matter. What matters is her codename. Everyone needs a codename in the underground. Plus, they sound mighty cooler than some lame old name like Akane."

Ranma rose from his seat, "Akane happens to be a great name! And she's no underground person! She's got a famil--" Ryouga covered Ranma's mouth and yanked him down into his seat. Slevin looked from one to the other questioningly, "Is there something you're not telling me gentlemen?"

Ryouga laughed falsely, "Nope, nothing at all. Honest as can be, us two. We're practically like monks! Right Ranma." Ranma gave a disgruntled nod. Slevin didn't smile but neither did he stop talking to them. He answered their questions as best as he could.

"How did she get into this underground stuff?"

"I dunno the specifics. I think she helped build it up into what it is today. Her and a friend or something. She's one of the operators."

"What's an operator?"

Slevin smiled, "Don't know what an operator is? Damn, y'all are really virgins at this stuff, aintcha? I feel kinda bad for poppin' y'alls cherries though. Oh well, an operator is one of the top guns. They orchestra the meeting places, the drop-offs, the fights. They know everything that has to do with the underground. If you want to know something then you go to an operator. They're basically god in the scheme of things."

Ranma tapped his foot trying to look disinterested while Ryouga didn't even bother masking his curiosity with the topic at hand.

"What exactly is the underground?"

Slevin sent the waitress a pleased look when she placed his food before him. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "The underground is basically everything that isn't accepted in normal society. It's pure aggression, pure sexuality, pure greed. Underground encompasses great areas that otherwise have no outlet in today's world. We've got all the fun down there."

"What kind of fun?" "Wait-a-minute, why did you say 'we' just now?"

Slevin swallowed a large bite in surprise. "Cause if ya go there it feels like home. And for the fun part," Slevin smiled in a gruesome manner, "there's girls, there's sex, there's drugs, there's fights, and there's money. Everything a man, or woman for that matter, could possibly want."

Ryouga and Ranma soaked the information up like sponges. Ranma though was the one to ask the question that was circling both their minds, "The operator, Red, what does she have to do with all of it? The drugs and stuff. She doesn't do any of it, right?"

Slevin sent them a pitying look, "Look, I'm not stupid enough to believe that you boys have no history with Red, but that's your business so I'll stay out of it. To answer your question though, well, Red ain't no angel. And the underground isn't a bed of roses. She does what everyone else does in the underground. She enjoys her status of operator and takes full advantage of it.

"Now gentlemen," he said as he rose from his seat, "I need to take a wicked piss, so you guys stay here and when I come out, I'll tell y'all that I wouldn't mind being your tour guide around the underground and y'all agree to it. Only if you wanted to, of course."

He moved forward a few steps, snapped his fingers, and turned back to the men at the table. "By the way, " he said in his typical roundabout way, "I'm expecting you guys to sit there and gossip like teenagers about what I just told you. I'd be disappointed if ya didn't." He winked, turned on his heel, and moved between the tables in a flamboyant manner winking at the waitress as he did so.

* * *

Chapter Three: **Pain In My Hole **hasn't even begun the process of being written yet, but I should have it out soon. Hopefully... 

Forgive me for any errors in grammar and such, I wrote most of this at 11 o'clock tonight and I'm dreadfully tired! You readers better enjoy this installment because it's almost the same amount of words as the prolouge and chapter one combined! My fingers frickin' hurt. :) It's cool though because I don't have a life and need an outlet anyway.

And imaginary cookies filled with happy thoughts to my reviewers; I love you guys.


	4. Pain In My Hole

_**Perfidy**_

by: _Sleeping In_

* * *

they musta paid her a nice price  
she's puttin on her string bean love  
this is not really happening  
you bet your life it is  
**tori amos**, "_cornflake girl_"

* * *

CHAPTER 3: **Pain In My Hole**

"Take a deep breath and hold it in your lungs."

Junior inhaled the smoke just as she told him and felt himself cough. Red laughed at him happily and offered it to him again. He swallowed and grabbed hold of the stick. He tried again, and while the taste was completely foul he pushed it down.

Red got her own and together they sat, inhaling smoke and staring up at the ever elusive stars. Junior used his peripheral vision to look at the woman he was currently enamored with. He didn't know anything about her, save she knew Ryouga and Ranma before. Although Junior had only been in her company for a few hours he knew enough to know that she wasn't going to offer him any information if he didn't ask for it. He steeled his resolve, "Hey, Red?"

The girl turned her head slightly so Junior had a full view of her face and gave him a questioning look. "Well, uh," he began, "I was just wonderin' how you knew them. Ranma and Ryouga, I mean."

Red didn't answer for a long while, her face was impassive but it hinted that beneath the surface there was chaos. She twitched slightly, "In a different lifetime when the land was good, I and them once knew each other well." She seemed to close in on herself after her admittance.

Junior wasn't satisfied though, "I heard them talking once, about this girl named Akane they knew. I asked them about it. They told me to mind my own business, but Ranma looked really depressed whenever I mentioned her name, like he couldn't bare to even hear her name." Red's face turned ugly in her look of anger, "I know of this Akane. They betrayed her. Ranma mostly, but Ryouga helped."

Junior failed to notice that Red's voice wasn't as strong as before; he just wanted to find the answer to his quest about this girl that seemed like a ghost to everyone.

"What did they do to her?"

Red seemed to lose all steam when he voiced his question. She inhaled deeply on her cancer stick. Her hand shook slightly, but her voice became melodious in it's agony, "Does it really matter?" Junior nodded enthusiastically, "Course it does."

"Why," started Red, "so you can justify it? So if it didn't met up to your standards of betrayal then she was just a spoiled brat making drama? Do you just want to know so that way you can scoff at her pain and say that she didn't really deserve anything because of her actions?" Junior flinched at her tone, "N-no, I just wanted to know what she went through. Just so I could have some common knowledge of her."

Red shook her head tiredly. She settled into her seat once more, "It doesn't matter. It happened in the past and should stay there to rot. It has no consequence of now."

Junior didn't really believe her but he knew some things just weren't meant to be discussed. He looked back up at the stars, wondering at their utter brilliance and how they would remain pure in their beauty. He allowed his voice to soften when he told her of his thoughts.

"Even though this Akane had things happen to her in the past, I'm sure she's still surviving today. It must still affect her and it's gotta hurt."

Akane closed her eyes slowly, "It hurts like nothing else."

Junior hadn't heard her.

**&&&**

Nabiki tapped her nails in a repetitive pattern and Mousse felt himself tense with every click of her perfectly manicured nail. He wasn't enjoying this meeting, Nabiki had a plan that meant destruction for the last standing obstacle, but she wasn't saying a word. Normally Mousse wouldn't really give a flying fuck what she was doing, but the plan included Red and Mousse knew that somehow it would be up to him to save Red from the darkness again after everything was said and done.

Nabiki stopped her tapping, "If I asked you to kill a man, would you do it?" Mousse gave her a strange look and a small nod.

"You wouldn't question my judgment whatsoever?"

Another nod.

Nabiki's smirk widen.

"Good to know."

**&&&**

Slevin was leading them into a dark corridor and the men following could tell that things weren't going to be getting any better any time soon. Ranma could feel the energy in this place, it was inherently evil. The positive force that most places carried had been drained a while ago and what was left was what made humans the violent, desolate, savage creatures that they are.

Had Ranma been a weaker man, he would have shivered.

Ryouga sneezed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. The air in the corridor was musty and filled with moisture and Ryouga knew he would never forget the odor of the place. He couldn't even begin to describe it.

Slevin took a turn and immediately came upon a door with no numbers nor identification of any kind. Ranma didn't want to know what was behind the door, all he wanted was an escape, but he couldn't leave Ryouga. Ranma didn't even want to fancy the idea that he wanted to fix the damage done and take Akane back into his arms where she belonged. He had stopped dreaming the night he left.

The man behind the closed door could hardly pass as human. His skin had developed a yellowish tint and his teeth could be a new species. Ryouga actually had a problem holding down his lunch for once. Ranma curled his lips in a disgusted look, but otherwise stayed silent.

The man smiled brightly at Slevin and the both of them retreated to a different room. Ranma and Ryouga stayed silent in the nightmarish room. Ryouga started slightly when he realized there was another person in the room. Her hair and clothes were in arraying degrees of disgusting and her eyes were glazed giving Ranma the impression that she wasn't really there.

The men stood awkwardly in the center of the room with the cracked out woman for a full five minutes before the woman made a slight noise. Ranma stayed wary of her and slowly waved a hand in front of her face to test her reaction. Suddenly, she grabbed his wrist before Ranma could even bother to blink and stared at him with complete focus.

"You're the one."

Ranma gave her a confused look. The strange woman continued to hold his wrist in a death grip.

"I'm the one what?"

The woman still gave away no emotion.

"You're the one who did it to her."

Ranma yanked his hand away swiftly and stood to his full height above the woman. Ryouga placed a hand on his shoulder and drew him towards the door Slevin had gone into minutes before. Just as Ryouga placed his hand on the doorknob, the door flew open to reveal Slevin. Ryouga gave his second jump of the night.

Ranma continued his staring contest with the person on the floor while Ryouga dragged him out by his forearm. He didn't stop looking until the door closed behind him.

Once the men were out of the filthy building, Ryouga took a deep breath of clean air. He questioned Slevin in an angry tone, "What the fuck was that man?! That place is full of god-knows-what and you don't even think to warn us?"

Slevin chuckled, "Yeah, the big bad martial artists can't take on a few germs and some druggies. Damn, you guys might mess me up with your pussyassness. Fuck me without Vaseline, you boys sure love to complain. I told you I had to pick something up before hand."

"I don't ever remember hearing you say that!"

Slevin frowned, "Jesus Christ, man. Just chill the fuck out. I got what we need to get underground, okay? I'll let ya see it if ya want, but I don't know if yer motherfuckin' stomach could handle it, pussy-boy."

Ryouga let out a growl and turned to Ranma, "Come on, speak up! You didn't want to go there either. Don't make me the only one to speak up!

"...Ranma?"

Ranma had a strangle look on his face and lifted his head from the ground to voice his thoughts, "I think - I think that was Kasumi."

* * *

hides under rock Um...Sorry? Somehow, I developed a life & it kinda took over. Not to metion the fact that my mother kept breaking our computer so we had to keep getting it fixed. Please forgive me for the extended break. I really didn't think it would take this long for this chapter to be released. I have no idea about the next chapter, but I'll most likely have a new story out soon...hopefully.

Oh yes, **much, much, much love** **to my _darling_ reviewers**. You all caused such good feelings in my heart after reading the reviews. I'm sending you imaginary hugs & kisses. Thank you!


	5. You Shadowed My Pride I Killed Your

**_Perfidy_**

by: _Sleeping In_

* * *

i want to hold you close  
soft breasts, beating heart  
as i whisper in your ear  
i wanna fucking tear you apart  
"_tear you apart"_, **she wants revenge**

* * *

**Chapter 4**: You Shadowed My Pride; I Killed Your Mother In Return

"I can't take it."

Akane screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

She felt as if that had been her whole life.

Screaming.

Screaming because of this, of that. Daddy didn't notice her; Kasumi was too perfect too compete; Nabiki was too smart to compare. Mother had been everything.

And Akane was the horrible image of her left behind.

She developed a complex. One of many to add to her collection.

And when she thought she had enough mental problems, he came.

Ranma.

Ranma and his group.

His group of the too strong martial artists, of the gorgeous Amazon women and caring best friends. Akane could never compete and she knew it. So she screamed some more.

She was so angry then. So hateful and mad and she couldn't stop screaming at him, at everyone, for her imperfections, her faults.

She tried so hard to be what she wasn't; she never found out what she was.

After the damage was irreversible, she didn't have any foundation to start again. She didn't know who she was without the others. Perhaps her madness started there.

Was that the reason she had long ago escaped the world, to hide in her brain?

Akane, the young girl her mother had loved, hadn't seen the light of day in four years. She kept her locked tight. When the boy came along, Akane had gotten so angry she had blocked all thought from her mind. Everything but the most base emotions. Anger, jealousy, and one or two others.

But what good had come of it?

She's still alone with her thoughts and they haunt her until she's suffocating underneath them all.

In a way, Ranma helped her.

He made her realize how fucked up and stupid she was. How useless, how expendable, how utterly ugly she was, inside and out.

Maybe she should thank him.

**&&&**

"Do you know what this is, Mr. James Edward?"

James Edward hesitantly shook his head. He was so scared at that moment, more so than he had ever been before in his entire life. He knew that this was going to be his last moments spent on earth. He would never see his wife again. He would never meet James Edward Jr. and he knew he would never see the light of day again.

"It's what I'm going to use to torture you."

He had toyed with fire and he got burned. He was still burning and he knew he was about to reach the crescendo. When he had taken the job as an undercover agent, he hadn't thought of the negative repercussions, he only thought of the good he would do. The promotion and pay off would be incredible. He would buy that house for him and Alice and Jr. and together, they would spend days walking through the nearby park with no worries.

He would never know how shr figured out he was undercover. He didn't even have the courage to ask her. He hadn't even made his first official report to his boss. It hadn't even been two months.

James should have known something was wrong when he had risen through the ranks at startling speed after only having been there for two weeks. He hadn't had to undergo the rites of passage like all the others. His ride had been so easy to the top, he should have known it was a trap. He was so stupid.

It was too late now. He felt her stare penetrate his body and tried to calm his breathing. He wouldn't go out a coward.

She smirked and he felt his resolve crumble.

"James Hanson Edward. What a name, what a name. How utterly and completely American can you get?"

He felt himself start to shake.

She was toying with him. And what made it scarier was the fact that she was enjoying doing it too.

Her lips moved to form more and more cruel, taunting words, "You are going to die. Slowly and painfully and you will die with no sense of honor or dignity. A coward's death. I hope you're looking forward to it."

James felt the urine creeping down his pants leg, he was so scared.

Nabiki smirked, she opened her mouth to continue her speech when the door opened to reveal a disenchanted Mousse.

"We need to talk."

Nabiki sent him a cold look, "I'm busy at the moment. Come back in an hour or so."

Mousse didn't budge and Nabiki allowed herself a moment of anger before becoming utterly indifferent to the situation.

"Well then, speak your mind."

Mousse sent a sneer towards the captive, "What about him?"

Nabiki glanced at James before giving a wave of her hand.

"Don't worry, Potty boy over there is going to die. He can't say what he knows when he's dead."

Mousse didn't look convinced, "What about wires?" Nabiki didn't even bother with an answer, just sending Mousse a look that easily told him to stop stalling.

He settled against the wall, not bothering with a chair because he knew he would end up standing anyway.

"Shampoo's back."

Nabiki still didn't look interested.

"Did you hear me? Shampoo is back."

"I fail to see why this should interest me."

Mousse took a deep breath, "I think Shampoo knows about us, our operation I mean."

"Still not interesting," Nabiki sent her nails a dirty look. They were chipping, she would need to get them redone soon.

Mousse growled slightly, "Nabiki, she's going to tell Ranma."

Nabiki let out a bark of emotionless laughter causing James to jump and shudder at the sound. "And what makes you think that, hum?" she said with obvious amusement.

He sent her a cold look, "She still loves him and wants him to be happy, which means getting Akane out of your possession and into Ranma's."

Nabiki didn't like that theory, "Of course she won't. She knows we've got her pegged. She's got nowhere to go if she does this. She knows her life is over if she even hints about anything to Ranma."

Mousse shook his head sadly, "That's the problem. She's willing to give it all up just for him to be happy."

Nabiki clicked her tongue, "I grow tired of you fools and your stupid love. All my plans get wrecked by you people letting your emotions rule."

"Well what do we do? We can't just ignore her."

Nabiki sent him an icy glare, "You don't think I know that? Just give me a few minutes to figure it all out."

At that moment, James Hanson Edward sneezed for the last time in his entire life and in doing so, he became the inspiration for one Nabiki Tendo.

Nabiki smirked in triumph and stood quickly.

"I've got a plan. But first let me rid myself of this garbage."

She pulled a 9 mm seemingly out of nowhere and placed it against James' skull. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was breathing in quick, shallow pants.

"Since our date was cut short by Mousse and his bad news, I'll just have to take out my revenge by a different route."

James gave a small sigh of relief.

"You know that little wifey of yours? Alice, I think, if I'm not mistaken."

James felt his heart stop.

"I thought so. Since she's pregnant and I'm such a softie at heart, I'll just wait until the birth and then kill her. Don't worry, I'll take real good care of your son. I've always wanted a prodigy. Say goodbye James."

James had almost broken through his bonds by his incredible amount of hate and rage at the woman and her words. His hand had reached for his hidden gun when Nabiki pulled the trigger right in his face.

The gunshot echoed in the almost empty room.

Nabiki let her arm drop as the headless body collapsed onto the ground in a mess of blood, guts, and gore.

She calmly placed the gun back in it's holder. Mousse shook his head slowly in disappointment.

Nabiki pulled a pre-made sheet from her pocket and stuck it into the body with James Edward's police badge. She wiped her hands and smirked at her handy work. Everything was just as she had planned for his death.

She turned to find Mousse starring at the body.

"Why did you do that to that poor man?"

Nabiki scoffed, "Poor man? He would've killed anyone if he thought it would get him a promotion. He wasn't anything worth saving."

Mousse still didn't seem impressed, "But why would you do those things to his wife and unborn child? Haven't you already done enough harm for the family?"

"Mousse, I'm ashamed," Nabiki said snidely, "do you honestly think I'm that cold-hearted to go after a woman and her child?"

Mousse didn't reply, waiting for her explanation. "This is why I prefer working with Akane, she understands why I do things without me having to explain. This James, how did he die Mousse?"

Mousse sent her a confused look. Nabiki let out an annoyed sigh, "Mousse he died on his feet, fighting for the ones he loved. He didn't die a coward, peeing in his pants from fright. And no, in case you're wondering, I'm not going to go after the wife. My issues only dealt with him. I don't bring in extras unless it can't be helped. Now hurry along, we have an Amazon to find and kill before she ruins everything we've done here."

Mousse felt the question escape his lips before he even realized what he was going to ask, "Nabiki...

"What have we become?"

Nabiki didn't stop her brisk pace and she refused to let herself feel anything when answering, "It's not what we became, but what the world made us out to be."

**&&&**

Ranma's foot bounced so incredibly much that he had trouble controlling it. He found himself in the middle of some spooky empty clearing with tall, soulless, concrete buildings on every side of him.

He tried to figure how he had ended up in such a place as this. Two days ago he had been traveling at a steady pace along with Slevin and Ryouga when he had miraculously been contacted, by Shampoo of all people. He had no idea how she managed to find him, but she did.

Her voice had been shaky and frantic. She had been so nervous he could barely understand her, he had to ask her to repeat herself three times before he finally got the gist of her point. She wanted to met him and tell him information about Akane and what she was tangled up in.

Ranma had immediately set up a place for a meeting. He made Ryouga stall and distract Slevin while he escaped to visit her. Ranma wasn't stupid, neither was Slevin so Ranma knew it was only a matter of time before the questions came but for the moment, Shampoo needed him and she could help him with Akane.

Shampoo had sounded so scared on the phone. Ranma was seriously worried about the purple haired Amazonian. She had never sounded as weak as she had when he talked to her last.

He checked his watch for the fifth time in seven minutes and his leg continued to bounce. Suddenly he heard movement and quickly spun around to see a figure.

"Ranma..."

Ranma felt himself choke on oxygen at the sound of her voice, it was just as perfect as he last remembered.

"Akane?" he saw her take a step so she was visible in the light given off by the concrete prison around them, "Akane, wha--what are you doing here? I thought I was meeting Shampoo..."

Akane's face changed into a grotesque look of some emotion Ranma couldn't even distinguish. He felt his heart break even more at the sight of her. She looked so fragile, more fragile then he remembered ever seeing her. She was always so strong, such a fighting spirit.

He didn't want to even think that he might have been the cause of her current state.

Akane shook her head and whispered to herself softly, her words not reaching Ranma's ears even at their close distance.

"I don't have time to talk. I have things to do, people to do."

If Ranma thought Akane looked fragile, her voice didn't give a hint at that state, it didn't have a single emotion in it. Her eyes used to burn with a fire within that Ranma would dream about every night and as he stood there he realized her eyes were empty. Nothing was left of her spark.

He realized he had destroyed her.

And the guilt threatened to sallow him whole.

He staggered under the weight of his new found realization. Her smile wasn't real and her voice was cold, "Ah, so you figured it out then. Took you long enough. You always were an idiot."

Ranma felt the stinging of tears he long thought he would never shed and he willed them to stay in his heart for a little longer. She couldn't see him be weak. No one could see him weak.

Akane took a step closer and another even closer, "I wanted to come here Ranma, to tell you something."

He could have swore he saw something flash in her eyes before they became empty, but Ranma felt hope rising inside of himself at the thought that Akane was still in there somewhere, hiding behind this Red persona she created to deal with the world. Her next words caused his hope to crumble and die.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did. If it hadn't been for you, I would still have the hope that I was going to reach some goal, make something of myself. Thanks to you and your group of super humans, I realized how stupid I had been."

Ranma couldn't take it, it had to make her stop, "Akane, we never meant to hur--"

Akane held up her hand and shook her head at Ranma, "Let me finish. I just wanted you to know that I've accepted the fact that I'm useless, that the only reason you kept me around was to toy with my heart and use my house and eat my food and steal my family away from me. But it's okay, because I've moved on to better things now and you should move on too."

Ranma shook his head violently, "Akane! That's not true! I never thought that, not for a second. You should know that I lo--"

Akane's hand stung slightly from the force she used to slap him across his cheek.

"You asshole!" She was breathing deeply, he had affected her more than she expected, she needed to get out before he broke her again, "stop. Just shut the fuck up for a few minutes. You never loved me. You and I both know that so don't stand there and lie to me!"

Ranma fell to his knees, "Akane, please, I never meant for things to be this way. I just didn't want to hurt anyone."

Akane scoffed, "You're too late. I hope you live happily ever after with your Amazon bimbo. Oh wait, I don't think that's going to happen. Why don't you just run off to Ukyo, since we both know you're really good at that."

He couldn't follow her words. He was drowning in his guilt and every other emotion he had been suppressing for the past two years. Akane gave him a dirty look and turned around making her way towards a parked car when she turned suddenly.

"Here's a gift," she told him, back to her emotionless state, "you and I are dead to each other now. Goodbye Ranma." She turned back towards the car swiftly and Ranma couldn't find the strength to get up, he couldn't even speak.

He looked down at the bundle she had thrown his way. He starred at it strangely, something just wasn't right about it. He reached down to grab it when he realized it was hair.

Purple hair.

Ranma quickly dropped the handful of hair he had and spun around only to release all the contents of his stomach.

The thing was a head.

Shampoo's head.

* * *

**F**irst of all, thank you to all the readers & reviewers. You make me very happy. D

I'm sorry this chapter took so frickin' long to be released. Life got in the way & I know that's no excuse, but still...please forgive me!

I won't say anything about the next chapter. But here's a question, how many more chapters would you guys like? Just curious...


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